JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Some Ozempic and Mounjaro users are dealing with severe side effects after using the injections for weight loss.
A new lawsuit is suing the makers of the drugs for a “failure to warn” patients about the risks of stomach paralysis but one local doctor says the claims are unfounded and not backed by research.
“As a result of using Defendants’ Ozempic and Mounjaro, Plaintiff was caused to suffer from severe gastrointestinal events, which resulted in, for example, severe vomiting, stomach pain, gastrointestinal burning, being hospitalized for stomach issues on several occasions including visits to the emergency room, teeth falling out due to excessive vomiting, requiring additional medications to alleviate her excessive vomiting, and throwing up whole food hours after eating,” the lawsuit claims.
Here’s what some News4JAX viewers taking Ozempic or Mounjaro told us:
“Stomach constantly twisted.”
“Not able to eat, severe stomach pain.”
“Reduced my quality of life drastically.”
Dr. Husain Abbas with HCA Florida Memorial Hospital says gastrointestinal side effects are normal when taking weight loss injections. He hasn’t seen any severe cases of stomach paralysis from using the medications himself, but the side effects could send someone to the hospital.
“They can definitely send you to the ER, if you are vomiting for several days nonstop, you can get very dehydrated, you know, your electrolytes can go out of whack,” Dr. Abbas said.
His recommendation is for anyone using the drugs to be monitored closely by a doctor, rather than ordering compounded versions of the drugs online.
Dr. Abbas said stomach paralysis can be caused by undiagnosed illness or by a patient’s diabetes. He isn’t worried about this being a common problem.
“Could these medications cause gastroparesis in the long run? There’s no data to suggest that right now unless there’s something that’s unpublished and I’m unaware of these are definitely not been published so far. Because to establish that, you will need to do the test before giving the medication and you have to prove there is no gastro paresis before. And then you have to show that there was gastroparesis afterwards, after stopping the medication.”
If your side effects are severe enough or you’re getting dizzy, you should go to a doctor or hospital.
“If you’re on the medication we know will slow your stomach down. Vast majority people complain nausea, vomiting, after you stop it, those symptoms, you know, subside in about three to five days,” Dr. Abbas said.
The Food and Drug Administration has confirmed reports of stomach paralysis from taking GLP-1 medications. They are unable to officially determine whether the cases of gastroparesis were caused by the weight-loss drugs or by another condition.
“As far as I know, today, all the research and literature that’s out there, [Ozempic] is actually a fairly safe medication,” Dr. Abbas said.
We want to know: Did you experience painful side effects while using Ozempic for weight loss? Let us know below.